Recently the advisory panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration backed and approved the single-shot coronavirus vaccine by Johnson & Johnson which is recommended for emergency use. Besides, Pfizer and Moderna, this will be the third vaccine in the USA’s arsenal to amplify the supply.
This approval has been welcomed by experts of the infectious disease country-wide and the provision of the first 20 million doses by the end of March has been reported by the Washington Post.
An Effective 3rd COVID Vaccine Approved By FDA
According to Dr. Lisa Lee, who is a public health expert in infectious diseases exclaims, “The addition of a third COVID-19 vaccine substantially reduces the time it takes the U.S. to reach herd immunity -when a high enough proportion of the population is immunized and we can disrupt the spread of this disease.”
The biggest advantage of this vaccine is that it does not need intricate storage like an ultra-frozen transport system. It is a one-shot vaccine instead of the regular two-shot ones provided by the former experts.
This also has the potential to vaccinate about 80-85% of the people within two months, thus creating a normal, disease-free life for many in the US.It is imperative to stop the virus, as the after-effects and mutations that have been lately developed are equally challenging and life-threatening.
Coronavirus has led to many deaths and unrecoverable illnesses, and before its infectious variants spread across the globe, it is crucial to control it and restrict its spread.According to New York Times, the FDA documents, have reported Johnson & Johnson to have an impressive efficiency rate of 64% in South Africa and 72% in the USA.
Almost 22000 people have been vaccinated in both countries and none of the people in the trial has died of Coronavirus. Its efficiency against severe forms of the virus in the US shows 86% in the US and 82% in South Africa.
Besides, a thorough analysis by FDA estimates the new vaccine to have an efficacy rate of 72% against asymptomatic infections which means that the spread of the pandemic by vaccinated people has been largely mitigated. Again, as reported in the Times, even nursing homes and hospitals see a sharp drop in the cases of death or hospitalization due to COVID- 19.
Another imperative piece of information shared by the Times, that for the past 3 months, there has been almost an 80% decline in new cases among the US nursing homes which were once the epicenter of infections caused by Coronavirus.
The vaccination rollout within the USA has already begun and will soon cover the huge loss of 163,000 cases of Coronavirus accounting for more than a third of all virus deaths since the late spring.
Excited about the new launch, Dr. David Gifford, CMP – chief medical officer for the American Health Care Association, facilitating long-term care facilities across the US told the Times “I’m almost at a loss for words at how amazing it is and how exciting,”.
As quoted by the Associated Press, besides the existing giants, two other major companies – Novavax and AstraZeneca, are anticipated to launch their vaccines eventually adding to the totals.
Since there seem to be no shortages of raw materials, funding, or equipment, there seem to be no chances of further interruptions, thus enabling vaccinations to 70% to 80% of the population of the US by summer.
AP also declares that by summer, Pfizer and Moderna collectively may, deliver 300 million doses each, while J&J (Johnson & Johnson) aims to provide 100 million doses. This would be sufficient to vaccinate every American adult, as reported by the AP.